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My little space on the web where I blog about comics and comic books, drawing and illustration, graphic design, writing stories, and a few tips and tutorials from time to time about them. I'll also share bits about movies, theater, music, (maybe even cooking!) and whatever strikes my fancy.

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In the previous post, I proposed a way for indie comics creators to get an initial boost in self-promotion by creating short comics based on their favorite podcasts. It can be a mutually-beneficial arrangement. The podcaster benefits from the relatively unique content format, a departure from the usual blogpost, audiocast, or video. Though I'm not aware of how effective comics can be in the long run, there's no harm in trying it out.

For the comics creator, making comics for podcasters can help in lead generation and even customer acquisition for the creator's own work. It can also help the creator stretch the creative muscles in a different way.

But this can go further, a "leveling up," if you will. And this kind of leveling up has already been demonstrated in the past.

Comics as "Infotainment"

My former boss in the magazine company I used to work for gave me a book--a graphic novel, specifically manga ("comics" in Japanese). The title: "…

How do you start building an audience? This question has been asked so many times by indie creators, and the answers are the usual: build a website, add content, promote on social media, build a mailing list. But this doesn't directly answer the question.

How do you start building an audience?

One of the basic principles to bear in mind is: people are attracted to what interests them.

The reason why you subscribed to that blog, or followed that Twitter account, or liked that Facebook page, is most probably because these channels promised and delivered something you've been looking for, anywhere from specific information to images of cute cats.

The same principle applies to you, the indie comics creator.

But, with so many comics creators out there trying to capture an audience, how do you stand out?

Here's one way. It's not the only way. But it's a place to start.

1) Choose a real-world subject you're genuinely interested in, apart from comics. It can be anything…

I've had a long and fruitful career in graphic design, article writing, and magazine art direction, and I've dabbled in theatre acting, playwriting, and teaching in university. But Fate led me to making comics, where I've found unexpected and flattering success.